| A book with an important tree | A Western | A book about a journey made with a non-car form of transportation (train, bus, boat, plane, walking, horse, etc.): The Wager by David Grann | A book with a one-word title: Affliction by Russell Banks | A book by an author you’ve never read before with at least 10 published books
: The Dee Valley Killings by Simon McCleave |
| Pick and read a book off of a friend’s shelf without their input | A book about or inspired by a real crime: Miss Kopp Investigates by Amy Stewart | A book first translated into English in the last five years | A book with a queer protagonist | A science fiction/speculative fiction book: The Book Censor's Library by Bothayna Al-Essa |
| A book by an author you’ve disliked/been underwhelmed by before but want to give another chance | A book on the NYT’s 100 Best Books of the 21st Century list
| FREE SPACE (Any book): The Case Has Altered by Martha Grimes | A book about a specific/niche subculture | Read a book with a book club (or make a one-off book club and read a book with a friend) |
| A book with no chapter breaks | A book with a time of day in the title (day, night, morning, dawn, dusk, etc.): Days Without Number by Robert Goddard | A book a friend wants you to read | A book on Time’s The 100 Must Read Books of 2024 list | A non-fiction book published in 2025 |
| A book translated from a language spoken by your ancestors | A book about books | A book with a ghost in it: Play to the End by Robert Goddard | A book with a movie or tv adaptation that you’ve already seen | A novel by a poet |